Tigers wheelchair star to take part in Leic 10k

Leicester Tigers wheelchair rugby player David Needham will be taking part in next month’s RunForAll Leicester 10k alongside more than 60 Leicester Tigers Foundation volunteers.

Part of last season’s league-winning team, David will be raising money to support the work of the Tigers Foundation and is no stranger to a challenge.

A former rugby player himself, Needham was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2014 and has gone onto take part in a number of long distance feats including the Leicester Marathon and The Yorkshire Three Peaks.

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Tigers club captain Tom Youngs will also be the official starter for this year’s event and David will take his place alongside Tigers fans and staff.

David said: “The Yorkshire Three Peaks took a great deal of fitness and stamina. I did train in my Mountain Trike for that and I put my fitness, stamina and general longevity down to the wheelchair rugby training. It’s a very intense game and high levels of fitness and stamina are a definite requirement in this game.

“The average life expectancy from onset of symptoms of a person with MND is two years. I’m incredibly grateful to be in my ninth year and still very much going.

The Leicester 10K poses another challenge than perhaps it would have been this time last year. I have lost a considerable amount of function over the last 12 months, particularly in the hands and forearms. So it will be tough, but I will enjoy it for sure.”

The route starts at Abbey Park and will take participants across the Grand Union Canal and into the city centre, past the Richard III visitor centre and the cathedral. Volunteers will then twice cross the River Soar before ending with a final lap of the park.

The team are hoping to raise more than £12,000 towards the Tigers Foundation, so if you're keen to get involved or volunteer to help out on the day, contact Jess Hider at [email protected] or on 0116 2171343.

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